


Even Criminals Need A Holiday

by moriartys_best_kept_secret



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Holidays, M/M, criminals, ooc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-21
Updated: 2012-10-26
Packaged: 2017-11-12 14:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/492081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriartys_best_kept_secret/pseuds/moriartys_best_kept_secret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not easy being a criminal consultant. Not every day is easy for Jim Moriarty. So what better way to relax than leave the country and go on holiday with his favorite sniper? It's all fun and games, until someone leaves a death threat for said favorite sniper...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a hell of a month for Jim Moriarty, Sebastian too suffered, all because the world was full of idiots.

“I don’t care how much money you can reimburse me with, _four of my men died_ ,” Jim hissed into his mobile, pacing around the kitchen island in his flat. “No… yes, it _was_ your fault and I can’t have- what did you just say? To me? _Do you know who you’re talking to?_ Fine… I’ll make sure everyone I deal with knows not to negotiate any terms with you. NO this isn’t over.”

Jim snapped the mobile shut and exhaled a deep breath. It was one of many phone calls Jim had made that day and with each call Jim’s temper got worse. Currently Sebastian was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, knees pulled up to his chest as he tried to watch tv and be invisible to Jim.

“Sebastian,” Jim snapped, making him rise quickly to his feet. “Get your AS50 rifle ready, I have a job for you. I want it taken care of quickly and efficiently. If something goes wrong… I don’t want to see your face in London again.”

Sebastian hastily made his way to the bedroom to change and get his proper rifle out into a duffel bag. This was pissed off Jim and though Sebastian was always confident in his sniper skills, he knew Jim meant it about messing up. If he did fuck up the job and leave London, Jim would still have skin for it, even if it was in some other town or country.

On his way out of the flat, Jim handed him the briefing and coordinates. Sebastian studied them for a few minutes, committing them to memory, and then handed it back so as not to make the mistake of leaving it on site.

“See you soon, boss,” Sebastian said lightly, heading out the door. Maybe taking care of this problem would lessen Jim’s burden for the day.

“I better,” Jim called out, making Sebastian smirk. So the criminal consultant would miss him if he messed up, it made Sebastian feel slightly anxious to get it over with.

Maybe he’d make Jim’s favorite meal tonight, have him shut off his mobile, and try to relax. The last thing he needed was for Jim to have a heart attack from all the stress lately.

Sebastian hailed a taxi and got dropped off a few blocks south of his destination. It would be a tricky hit, done in the daytime rather than the protection night could provide. Jackson, the hit, was supposed to be running meetings today, the last to be finished by a quarter after five. It was three quarters past four now and Jackson should be wrapping up. Next stop would be his office before heading out the door at five and stopping at a bus stop. Once a week he sits innocently on a bench next to a greasy pusher reading a paper and slides an envelope of cash to him. The pusher then places the newspaper down, which happens to be cocaine, and leaves.

While Sebastian could care less about the man’s dirty drug habit, it was his job to take him out. No questions asked, though sometimes Jim would tell him why after he’d come home and they had post-kill sex. So he set up his scope in an apartment up for rent that faced the stop and waited. He had to pull the trigger at the right moment, when the pusher was out of sight and Jackson was still on the bench.

Five minutes to go. Sebastian breathed calmly, in and out, staring through the scope. His body was tense but he kept it under control. Three minutes to go. Jackson hands the money over casually. No one notices but Sebastian. Two minutes to go. The pusher was getting up, leaving the newspaper behind. Jackson checks it. One minute to go, Jackson stuffs the drugs in a briefcase. Sebastian holds his mark and goes for it. The bullet hits between Jackson’s eyes. He begins to pack up the gun and leave before anyone could look for where the bullet came from.

~

The front door slammed shut and Jim allowed himself to feel relieved that Sebastian had come back. It meant he hadn’t fucked up the job. He knew he had been unnecessarily hard on Sebastian the past few weeks but clients were being difficult and what else could he do? Sebastian took it well, even if he did try to hide from him.

“Everything go to plan?” he called to Sebastian, who was trying to sneak unnoticed into their bedroom. He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it anyway. He set aside his laptop and turned to face the sniper.

“Yes, boss,” Sebastian answered with a nod. “We won’t be hearing from Jackson again.”

“That should keep Banin happy.” He got up from his seat and walked towards Sebastian. “You don’t need to hide from me, ‘Bastian. I’m not upset with you; I was only upset with the moronic clients asking for me to do things that conflict with other jobs.”

“I’m not hiding from you, boss,” Sebastian said, taking a deep breath as Jim laid a hand on his cheek. “Want me to take care of any client?”

Jim chuckled, letting his hand fall to Sebastian’s waist and took a step closer. “I don’t think that will be necessary… yet.” He turned back to his computer and let Sebastian go.

~

“Sebastian?” Jim asked one day while sitting at his computer.

Sebastian was sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper and giving Jim space while he worked. At the call of his name, he looked behind him at Jim sitting at the kitchen island with his laptop open.

“Yes, boss?” he answered, wary of what mood Jim was in today.

“Are you happy with the life we’re living? Are you happy with me?” The question threw Sebastian off guard, his mouth opened then closed as he searched for an answer.

“Is everything okay, Jim?” Sebastian asked, putting down the newspaper next to him.

Jim sulked, pushing himself off the high top chair to walk over to Sebastian. He stood behind the couch, so that Sebastian had to turn, kneeling on the seat and fold his arms over the top of the couch to face him. It made him just as tall as Jim to do so.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jim said, crossing his arms impatiently.

“Of course I’m happy,” he said, emphasizing the ‘course’. “Do you really have to ask? Or do I have to prove it to you?” He cocked an eyebrow suggestively.

Jim relaxed a bit and took Sebastian’s hand in his. Sebastian felt like he was skating on thin ice, unsure of what direction Jim was going in. This wasn’t a bad mood day, since Jim hadn’t thrown a tantrum or shut himself away in his office. So what was he trying to say?

“You can prove it to me later,” Jim teased, an easy grin growing on his face. He ruffled his hair with a hand, suddenly too shy to meet Sebastian’s eyes.

Sebastian knew something was eating Jim up inside. He pulled Jim closer so he was pressed against the couch and with his free hand, lightly gripped Jim’s arm and rubbed soothingly with his thumb.

“Hey,” Sebastian said softly. “What’s on your mind?”

Jim took a deep breath and let it out, before looking Sebastian in the eyes. “I know I haven’t been the easiest to live with lately-,”

“No you haven’t,” Sebastian interrupted, earning a hard look from Jim in response.

“I know,” Jim said, shaking his head slowly. “I want to make it up to you, though. You’ve made the past few weeks a bit more bearable and I thought maybe wecouldgoonaholidayorsomething?”

He said the last words so low and quick, Sebastian wasn’t sure he heard him right. “Holiday?” Sebastian asked, looking Jim in the eye to see how serious he was.

“If you want to,” Jim answered hastily, shrugging uncomfortably. “I can take a week off. I think I deserve a little break after such a stressful period of time.”

“Well I don’t know,” Sebastian said slowly, making Jim’s pulse beat anxiously. He added with a smirk, “I’d have to check with my boss. He’s not the type of guy to let his employees go on a holiday.”

Jim smiled back, “You’re making me lose my edge, Seb. But I’m sure he could let you go for a week, provided you’d promise to be good.”

Sebastian gripped Jim’s hips and pulled him closer so that their lips were almost touching. “I promise to be very good,” he said quietly, leaning in for a kiss.

Anxiety washed away by relief, Jim held on to Sebastian, leaning forward and deepening the kiss. It had been days since they had a proper shag- and not just a stress relief one. It’d been a long time since he touched Sebastian’s body intimately and not just trying to rush things.

Sebastian kissed him back longingly, his tongue dancing with Jim’s as he felt Jim’s hands snake up into his short hair. Never one for gentleness, Jim sucked on Sebastian’s lower lip, holding Sebastian’s face against his own.

“Finally,” Sebastian breathed when Jim moved on to kissing along his neck, “I’ve missed this.”

Jim stopped to look at Sebastian with lust blown eyes. That look alone was enough to make Sebastian hard in his pants. “This is just a preview of how our week is going to go,” Jim mumbled, taking a step back. “Now let’s get you over to bed.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So, have you given any thought as to where we’ll be going?” Sebastian asked after swallowing a forkful of sirloin steak.

“Yes, Ireland actually,” Jim answered in between bites of his caprese salad. No matter how hard Sebastian tried he just couldn’t get Jim to eat meat unless it was fish, because fish is supposed to be ‘good for your health’.

“Ireland? Aren’t holidays typically spent in some sunny, tropical place, dear?” Sebastian asked.

“Let’s not do something ‘typical’, darling,” Jim drawled, giving Sebastian the would-you-expect-anything-less look before picking at a tomato. “Anything wrong with Ireland?”

“No, not at all. Are we going to visit where you’re from?” Sebastian asked curiously. Jim never talked about his past. All Sebastian ever got for a response when he asked was Jim narrowing his eyes and saying-

“I don’t _do_ sentiment, Seb, you know this.” Jim stood up from his seat and took their finished plates to the sink. Sebastian sighed. Jim knew all about his family but if Sebastian ever asked one question Jim’s past, he would become tight lipped and unhappy.

Sebastian walked over to Jim and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Okay, sorry I asked. Any particular reason we’re going to Ireland?”

Jim turned around to lean his forehead against Sebastian’s. “I want to see something different than London,” Jim said softly. “I want to see green and get some fresh air.”

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing much of outside or getting fresh air if we’re getting seven uninterrupted days to ourselves,” Sebastian said, smirking.

“We’ll manage, Tiger,” Jim said, a smile pulling at his mouth. He tilted his face up a little to kiss Sebastian briefly before pulling away. “Our holiday isn’t going to plan itself.”

“Right, I’ll go book the tickets,” Sebastian said, moving to the laptop on the island counter.

“Actually,” Jim pulled on his arms to stop him from going any farther, “don’t worry about that. I want it to be a surprise for you, so I’m going to do all that. You can pack our baggage though. I’d like to get tickets for tomorrow.”

“So soon?” Sebastian asked. “Can you get tickets last minute like this?”

“If you pull the right strings, dear, you can,” Jim replied, stepping over to the laptop. “Also, I might have been looking up hotels and such for the past week.”

Sebastian was a bit surprised to hear Jim had put a bit of thought about their holiday. He smiled to think it would be their first holiday and hopefully not their last…

~

“Your little wakeup call made us late!” Jim complained to Sebastian as they hurried to their plane. “We’re cutting it real close.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and pulled out their tickets as they approached the gate. The line to get on the plane was very short. “We made it on time just fine, kitten,” Sebastian reassured, handing their tickets to the woman at the door.

Jim shot Sebastian a sharp glance as he led the way. “Don’t call me that in public,” Jim hissed.

Sebastian sighed, following Jim up to their first class seats. The last thing he needed was to have a moody Jim next to him for the next hour. Once seated, Sebastian turned to comment about how this morning’s wakeup call was worth it but stopped because Jim was too busy texting away. Work always seemed to find Jim. Maybe for this holiday he could convince Jim to leave his mobile off.

He leaned into his seat and closed his eyes. He hated flying, especially hearing the rattling of the plane during takeoff. That is the exact moment Sebastian wanted headphones in and music playing off the iPod Jim bought him, not after when they were already in the air.

As the plane accelerated he gripped his arm rest. _Only a few minutes and we’re up in the air_ , he thought to himself.

“You know you’re much safer in a plane than you are in a car,” Jim whispered into his ear and placed a hand on top of Sebastian’s. “It’s a one in a million chance that we’d get in an accident and we’re only flying for an hour.”

“I just hate taking off,” Sebastian replied, keeping his eyes squeezed shut.

“Who would’ve thought my big, strong Tiger was afraid of heights?” Jim teased, intertwining his fingers with Sebastian’s.

“I’m not-,” he started, but closed his mouth as he realized they were now up in the air and Jim’s moodiness seemed to be over. “Well, I can handle it so long as you’re here, love.”

“And I’ll be here for as long as you want me,” Jim said seriously, making Sebastian smile.

“Which will be always,” Sebastian reassured. He stretched out in his seat, glad for the extra leg room and glanced out the window. They were flying smoothly and all he could see was cloud. Turning back to face Jim, he asked, “So what’s on the schedule for this week?”

“Do you honestly expect me to answer that?” Jim said with a shake of his head. “It’s a surprise.”

“But you change your mind about a lot of things,” Sebastian disagreed. “How do I know you won’t change your mind about what we do one day?”

“I won’t change my mind. Just sit back and don’t worry, I’ve got it all under control,” Jim said.

“Like always,” Sebastian said, leaning back in his seat. He closed his eyes and told Jim, “I’m going to catch up on the sleep I missed this morning, wake me up when we get there.”

~

“James, this room… it’s just so spectacular,” Sebastian said in awe as he walked around their bedroom. Jim had managed to book the Main House Specialty Suite at the best hotel in Dublin. Sebastian supposed it’s the kind of room you need connections to get on such short notice and is very expensive.

“It is impressive, isn’t it?” Jim said, plopping down on their king sized bed. “The pictures on the website don’t do it justice.”

Sebastian strolled around the room, whistling as he gazed out of the window and saw the garden. Jim stood up and walked over to where Sebastian was standing and hugged him from behind.

“I take it you like the room, dear?” Jim asked, kissing Sebastian’s neck.

“I think we’re going to have a very nice little holiday here,” Sebastian answered, turning around so he could look down into Jim’s eyes. He leaned down to kiss Jim. “Fancy taking a bath with me?”

“I’d like nothing more,” Jim said, letting go only to take Sebastian’s hand in his. “Let’s see first how big this bathroom is.”

The bathroom looked more than promising. Gray marble walls glistened, making the room feel huge. Jim went ahead and ran the bath water, filling the tub until it looked steaming and inviting.


	3. Chapter 3

“Who knew Dublin could be a great holiday spot?” Sebastian said, exhausted after a day of visiting Trinity College and Dublin Castle. He crossed their bedroom to lie down on the bed and sighed. It was dark outside and they had just got back from a late dinner.

“There’s still a lot more to do!” Jim exclaimed, satisfied that Sebastian was having a good time. He had been worried the past few days that Sebastian would’ve preferred a tropical and sunny vacation. They spent half their week doing what most tourists do: going to museums and national galleries, dragging Sebastian to the Abbey theatre because _when’s the last time we went to the theatre without worrying about being killed?_ and enjoying the last night ordering in.

“What else is there to do?” Sebastian asked, looking up at Jim who was suddenly consumed with whatever was on his mobile. When Jim didn’t look up, Sebastian stood up and walked over to him. “Love?”

“Oh, what?” Jim concealed his concern once he noticed Sebastian standing in front of him.

“I thought you left business at home?” Sebastian frowned, trying to wrap his arms around the smaller man, only to end up pushed away. “What?”

“I’m sorry, Tiger, but this is extremely important,” Jim apologized. He walked over the desk and started packing up his laptop. “I’ve got to go out for a little bit but you need to stay here, that’s an order-,”

“James, what is going on?” Sebastian interrupted, confused by the sudden change of mood. _What could be so important Jim had to order me to stay in?_

“I can’t talk about it,” Jim answered, shaking his head sadly. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

Jim left the room in a hurry with his laptop to the lobby. He argued with the receptionist but finally said the right threat. The receptionist reluctantly handed him a key for one of the rooms to be used for the night, so he could have somewhere private to talk.

He flipped on the light switch after he opened the door. The bedroom was small compared to his own but he wasn’t interested in spending the night here. He walked briskly to the desk and set up his laptop. Taking a seat he switched the laptop on and hit redial on his mobile.

“Explain,” Jim said into the phone, voice dangerously soft. He paced the room as his employee started speaking.

“Moran’s flat has been compromised, Sir,” the employee spoke quickly. “We wouldn’t have known about the break in if it hadn’t been for Moran’s pistol appearing at a crime scene earlier today. Moran is currently a suspect in the murder of a Franklin Bernstein-,”

“How can this happen, Roberts? Moran isn’t even in London!” Jim hissed.

“I know, we’ve cleared it with Lestrade,” Roberts continued, keeping his voice calm. “We proved Moran was out of the country by showing his plane departed earlier today. The murder occurred between one and three this afternoon. That’s not the point though. I got some men to go to Moran’s flat, see if anything else was taken besides the pistol. Everything appeared to be in order, since the flat didn’t have many possessions. There was a note, however, addressed to Moran threatening that ‘the sniper better watch his back because there’s a target painted on it.’”

“Is that all?” Jim asked, his nerves running high. So they might have to stay in Ireland a few extra days, he can have his men take care of the problem.

“Unfortunately, no, Sir.” Roberts added, “It’s been leaked on the news that Moran is in Ireland. Whoever is after him may be arriving there as soon as tonight.”

“Fuck,” Jim exclaimed. “Okay, do you have any idea what this suspect looks like?”

“We’ve been running feeds for Moran’s building,” Roberts explained. “We don’t know when exactly the gun was taken but as soon as we get a match we’ll start tracing faces for flights going to Ireland from after the murder.”

“I expect you to send a man to Ireland tonight,” Jim ordered. “Send whoever can get the job done once the face is recognized.”

Jim hung up and sighed. There never seemed to be a dull day for the world’s only consulting criminal and his employees. He slumped into a chair at the desk and began booking a flight to Germany for first thing in the morning. His mobile rang again, it was Sebastian, and let it go to the machine before he listened to it.

“Jim, it’s me.” Sebastian said, sounding tired. “I don’t know where you bloody ran off to but it’s been a long day. It’s been a good day, I might add, and it can only get better if you get your arse over to this ridiculously big bed. This is supposed to be our holiday, remember? I’m waiting.”

~

Jim opened his bedroom door and peeked inside. Sebastian had stopped waiting and hadn’t bothered to leave a light on for him. The door clicked shut and he set his laptop on the floor next to the bed and started to undress. The last thing he needed was an upset Sebastian.

When he slithered into bed a few minutes later, he lay on his side looking at Sebastian. Sebastian didn’t move, even though Jim could tell he was awake.

Jim took a deep breath and began lying, “Look, I told you it was work on the phone because I knew you wouldn’t ask any questions. It really had to do with what I had planned for tomorrow. I couldn’t just ruin the surprise, could I?”

He waited a few seconds to see if Sebastian would respond. When he didn’t, Jim continued, “I had to change some things at the last minute. Tomorrow we’re going to Germany, surprise!”

“Cut the bullshit, Jim,” Sebastian huffed, turning around to face him. “It was work on the phone and now we’re going to Germany for business. Isn’t that it?”

“Tiger, no,” Jim said softly. “Tomorrow I wanted us to go down to Cork. It’s somewhere I used to go, years ago before I moved to London. We were going to go to St. Finn Barre’s Cathedral and walk around Heritage Park, but our train is out of service tomorrow. It had some unforeseen complications today and tomorrow it will be fixed up. I’m not lying, ‘Bastian. This _is_ our holiday.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at him. The lie was convincing enough but he could never be sure with Jim…

“All right,” Sebastian answered slowly. He wasn’t ready yet to let Jim off the hook for ditching him earlier. “Why Germany, then? Why not go somewhere else in Ireland?”

“I thought to myself, we only have three days left,” Jim said, sliding a hand up Sebastian’s arm. “Which by the way, I think I might extend our holiday by a few days just because I can. So why not go somewhere else? I already have the hotel booked in Germany and a few things in mind that we can do. Germany will be our chance to relax, versus roaming the city like we’ve been doing so far.”

Sebastian slid an arm around Jim’s waist and pulled him closer. “Okay, James,” Sebastian whispered. “You’ve got me.”

Out of Sebastian’s danger zone now, Jim wrapped himself around Sebastian and kissed his collar bone.

~

They landed in Leipzig, Germany the next morning. Sebastian found the next hotel they were staying at just as impressive. All this was booked, of course, under one of Jim’s many aliases. He always kept a spare passport in his luggage in case trouble arose. Jim encouraged Sebastian to check out the rest of the hotel, especially the gym, and made a phone call once he was alone.

“Care to update me on the situation?” Jim asked, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. It was the same employee who told him about the issue the night before.

“Yes, Sir,” Roberts said, launching into what they’ve found. “We’ve got an ID on the man. His name is Michael Moss, military background; you’re not going to believe this, Sir…”

“But?” Jim asked, running the name through his mind. Who is this Moss?

“He was on Moran’s unit back when Moran was in the service,” Roberts answered. “We still don’t know what the motivation is but there is a link with the man Moss murdered earlier yesterday. The victim, Bernstein, was also part of Moran’s unit. We’re guessing Moss has a personal vendetta. Moss landed in Dublin yesterday afternoon and now that we’ve got a name we can stop him from taking any other flights or transportation around Ireland.”

“Did you send a man to Dublin?” Jim asked.

“Yes, a few men actually,” Roberts said. “I’ll let you know when we find more information.”

“Good. Don’t make me call you asking for an update again,” Jim warned before hanging up the mobile.

Sebastian walked in, his smile faltering when he saw the phone in Jim’s hand. “Work?” he asked.

“I was just making dinner reservations,” Jim lied, shaking his head at Sebastian. “Come over here, relax, and stop doubting this trip to Germany was a lie.”

Sebastian walked over to Jim, pulling him up from the bed into his arms and sighed. “Okay, sorry, love.”

“I think you’ll like where we’re going to eat tonight,” Jim said, lightening the mood. “It’s the fanciest place in Leipzig…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this story is going faster paced than I originally thought (like all this stuff is happening in Chapter Three already? dang). School is becoming a 'thing' now so this story will probably wrap up in lesser chapters than I thought there would be.
> 
> Anyway, I'm always grateful to see people are reading this. Hope you all stick around!


	4. Chapter 4

In reality, Jim didn’t have a dinner reservation. He had to have the concierge make a reservation but being a hard place to get a table, he had to dish out a big bribe. On top of all the secrecy, Jim had to do this when he sent Sebastian back to their bedroom to make sure he hadn’t left the television on when they were going out to lunch.

“See, I knew the telly was off,” Sebastian said a little annoyed when he arrived back in the lobby. “You rarely watch the telly.”

“Oh, well now I can rest easier knowing it’s off,” Jim said, leading Sebastian to the little café in the hotel.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Going environmental now are we, boss?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try and keep the planet I live on from killing me one day,” Jim answered, shaking his head with a smirk. At least he got away with dinner.

~

“Welcome, Mr. Brooks, I hope you enjoy your meal,” the host said in German as he ushered Jim and Sebastian to their seats. Once alone with the menu, Sebastian looked at Jim curiously.

“Jim, why did he call you Mr. Brooks?” Sebastian asked while Jim was busy looking over the selection.

“Because that’s the name I gave for the reservation, Seb-,” Jim stopped himself, remembering that someone was after Sebastian and using his name out loud would not be wise. He lowered his menu in time to see Sebastian rolling his eyes at him. “Do you want me to use my real name and draw attention to us?”

“If it was so dangerous, why’d we go to Germany then?” Sebastian retorted.

“It’s not dangerous. The point is, Tiger,” Jim said softly, trying to wrap up the line of questioning, “I wish to remain anonymous. We came here to relax and so far that hasn’t been happening.”

“I can’t relax because you’re not telling me something!” Sebastian said. “I know it! My instincts are never wrong.”

“Shh, calm down now, no need to raise your voice,” Jim said, but it was no use. Sebastian shook his head and stood up from the table, causing a few people around them to stare.

Sebastian ignored the audience and continued berating Jim. “For the past twenty-four hours you’ve been wound up -don’t deny it- I could tell every time I touched you. If you’re not going to tell me, fine! I’ll get something to eat at the hotel and try to _relax_ since that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Jim didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t call after the man, who knows if they were being followed? He let Sebastian go, giving them both the chance to cool off before he apologized. Maybe it would be better to explain, he knew he should have never kept the news from Sebastian. All he wanted was a stress-free holiday and telling would’ve put Sebastian in bodyguard mode, even though he was the one in trouble.

“Will your friend be returning?” Jim’s waiter asked in English, his German accent thick in the pronunciations.

“No. I’ll have a glass of white wine,” Jim replied, his tone dismissive.

Temporarily free of Sebastian, Jim had the chance to check his mobile to find a voice message was waiting for him. Bringing the phone to his ear, he listened to his employee’s update.

“Sir, we were successful in stopping Moss at a train station today. His departure was for Killarney, though the motive was unclear. We’ve currently got him in a holding cell. Awaiting further instructions.”

Jim deleted the message and sent a reply text. “I will deal with him myself. For now, keep him locked up. One meal a day. –JM”

His glass of wine was soon brought over and Jim pondered the difficulty at hand. He sipped the crisp wine slowly, delaying his trip back to the hotel. He supposed Sebastian would want to deal with Moss himself; he never did talk about his military days. There was never really anything _to_ talk about. Jim had read the reports about Sebastian’s orders and discharge but never had Sebastian mentioned the men he took charge of.

~

Jim paused in front of his room. He hoped Sebastian was inside even though he knew he’d have to deal with his anger. He slipped the key in the slot and opened the door to find… an empty room.

Sighing, he stripped off his jacket, loosened his tie and walked to the bathroom to turn on the shower. He was hopeful enough to look for a note as to where Sebastian could be, but he didn’t find one. The shower was steaming up the mirror so he pulled off the rest of his clothes and went under the hot water.

By the time he walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, Jim found Sebastian sitting in a chair in front of the laptop. His back was turned to Jim, but Sebastian was aware of Jim’s presence. From the sheen of sweat glistening Sebastian’s arms and back, it was clear to Jim that he had found stress relief at the gym.

“When, exactly, were you going to tell me I was a murder suspect in London?” Sebastian growled, refusing to turn around. A dripping wet, naked Jim wouldn’t have helped Sebastian keep his composure.

Jim walked up to Sebastian and hesitantly laid a hand on his shoulder, only to be rebuffed.

“I wasn’t going to tell you because that was easily cleared up,” Jim answered, choosing to stand next to the desk so Sebastian had to look at him.

“Bloody fuck, Jim!” Sebastian exploded, pushing the chair back as he shot up from his seat. “Is this why we even went on a holiday? In case a job backfired, like it clearly did, and the blame got put on me? So we’d be off somewhere and the proof that I had nothing to do with it was the plane tickets to Ireland? And here I was, foolish enough to think you were sincere enough to want to go away with me.”

“Tiger-,” Jim paused. He drew himself up tall, despite Sebastian looming over him, and let his own anger speak for him. “For once I was trying to protect _you_. You daft idiot, this holiday was as real for me as it was supposed to be for you too. When I got the call about the trouble going on in London, I hid it from you because I knew it was going to be taken care of. Now I have to tell you something else though. As it turns out, there was a man trying to come after you who used to be in your military unit, a Michael Moss. Do you know this man?”

Sebastian was speechless. He sat back down in the chair and looked down at his hands in his lap. “You should have told me, Jim. Moss is insane, he tried to kill me and some other men in his sleep. The war made him disturbed and then one day, he went AWOL.” Sebastian shook his head slowly. “Now he’s coming after me?”

“He tried to,” Jim said softly. “But we’ve got him, Seb. He’s not going anywhere. We can fly back to London and you can take care of him tomorrow. I’m sorry our holiday didn’t quite turn out so well.”

Sebastian pulled Jim closer and wrapped his arms around Jim’s waist. “If it’s any consolation, the first half was great.”

Jim rested his forehead against Sebastian’s and smiled. “Tonight let’s just order some expensive champagne and make the best of it, okay? Did you eat dinner already?”

“Sounds perfect,” Sebastian replied with a kiss. “And no, I didn’t eat yet. Order something for me while I take a shower?”

“Excellent.” Jim moved away to the desk phone and dialed room service. As he ordered their meal, he smirked at the show Sebastian was putting on as he pulled off his clothes. Out of habit, he checked his mobile. One missed call, one new voice message. Jim played the message and when it was over his stomach sank. Moss had killed his guard and escaped.


	5. Chapter 5

Moss’s escape was the last thing Jim needed. He glanced into the bathroom to make sure Sebastian was in the shower before he made a call to his security team.

“How the hell did Moss get out of containment?” Jim said into the mobile. He had a way of portraying his anger in a deadly calm voice. “I gave you explicit orders to keep him locked up and under surveillance.”

“It was Greene, sir,” a nervous voice said on the end of the line. “He took a short break, figuring Moss wasn’t going anywhere. Next thing we know, the security detail is murdered outside of Moss’s containment.”

“Have someone dispose of Greene and make sure he’s not found. Tell me the status of Moss’s whereabouts.”

“He headed east of London but we, er, we’re still on the lookout for him.”

“I’m heading back to London in the morning to get this done properly. I expect a call tomorrow notifying me that you _have_ located Moss.”

Jim clicked the mobile off and threw it on the bed. His team was completely useless! He was going to need to restructure the employment of his empire personally, a tedious task he always had someone else do.

The menu for ordering in sat on the desk and he briefly glanced through it before ordering something at random for him and Sebastian. Sebastian came out of the shower dripping wet in a towel, in a better mood that fell once Jim gave his news. Sebastian let out a curse.

“This is why you should have told me in Ireland! I would have got the fucker sooner.”

“He might still be after you. The last thing I need is a dead sniper.”

“Tell me we can go back to London tomorrow?”

“Yes, we’ll leave in the morning. I’ll let you have your chance.”

~  
Sebastian was twitchy all through the flight, eager to start preparations in finding Moss. He made Jim uneasy, though he would never voice his concern aloud. Sebastian was plenty capable of pulling off hits but it wasn’t often he had face-to-face combat, especially not with someone _looking_ for him.

Jim trailed behind Sebastian slowly as he made his way up into their flat. By the time he caught up, Sebastian was still in the open doorway, a finger to his lips to silence Jim. It looked like someone had broken in. Sebastian put his bags down silently, motioning for Jim to do the same. Jim watched as Sebastian carefully unzipped a bag with a gun and pulled it out, holding it in front of him.

“Stay here,” Sebastian mouthed silently as he stepped inside.

_To hell with that,_ Jim thought, poking his head inside to watch. Sebastian tiptoed around each room and every time he had disappeared Jim’s heart raced at the thought of Moss catching them off guard. How could Moss know this where they lived? The lease was under a different name and there were no paper trails of Sebastian living there…

Sebastian reappeared. “It’s all clear.”

“Don’t think for a minute we’re still staying here tonight. No one knows we live here, so how does he?”

“He used to be a sniper. Not as good as me but still, Moss knows how to hunt a man down. Where are we going to go?”

“I’ll find us a room somewhere. Let’s get new clothes and leave. I don’t want him to come back.”

“I do. Let him find us, Jim. I’m tired of running away.”

“We’re not running away.” Jim dropped his luggage on the bed and unzipped it, taking out clothes that needed to be washed. “We’re keeping ourselves safe. I’m keeping you safe.”

Sebastian pulled out his duffel bag from under the bed. Inside were a majority of his guns and ammo, untouched by the previous disturbance that had occurred in their flat. He picked out a few guns to bring with him and left a hand gun out to carry on him before beginning the menial process of re-packing his bag.

“I can keep myself safe.”

Jim shook his head and left the room. Sebastian didn’t really care about what clothes he took and so he grabbed random shirts from the back of the closet, behind Jim’s suits, and pushed them in the case. A few trousers, socks and clean pants added and he was good to go. He zipped up the luggage and found Jim in the kitchen, tapping away furiously on his laptop.

Sebastian leaned against the kitchen island, watching him “When do you want to go?”

“I need a few minutes. Why don’t you call the driver?”

It was Sebastian’s turn to shake his head as walked away from Jim who was back to work mode. No doubt he was already trying his best to track down Moss’ whereabouts and finding his way back into the CCTV cameras. Sebastian sunk into the couch and hit speed dial for the driver. It was only a matter of minutes before he could hear the click of the laptop closing and the sigh as Jim got up to drag his suitcase out of the room. Sebastian stood up and went to the room to pick up his luggage.

“Ready?” Jim rolled his suitcase out of the bedroom.

“Yeah.”

Slinging his bag of guns behind his back, Sebastian took hold of his suitcase with the other hand. They headed down the car, where the driver stood waiting. Sebastian kept his guns with him in the back seat, just in case, while Jim once again had his laptop opened.

“What are you even looking at?” Sebastian leaned over to catch a glimpse. The screen was divided into eight squares with different images changing every thirty seconds. It looked like different areas of London from open parks to pubs and banks.

“I’m borrowing Mycroft’s eyes for now. I’ve managed to program a response for when Moss’ face shows up. I’ll receive a message with his location once it appears.”

Sebastian went back to looking out the windows, wondering which flat they’d be staying in now. The car slowed to a stop, parked next to a flat three blocks away from where they came from.

“We’re here already?”

“It’s not necessary that we stay far away from the flat. We only have to remain hidden inside until we find Moss.”

They climbed out of the car and went inside. It wasn’t as nice as the main flat they usually stayed at but it would do. They took the elevator all the way up and found a smaller, but comfortable, place to stay. Jim strolled right into the living room and opened his laptop back up, leaving his suitcase standing by the front door.

“I guess I’ll get that,” Sebastian muttered, taking the extra luggage to the bedroom.

He left the suitcase flat along the side of the wall where a window overlooked the street below. His stomach grumbled and he wondered if they had any food stocked in the fridge. Sebastian left the gun bag on the bed and walked to the kitchen. Of course, there wasn’t any food in the place. Food was usually the last thing on Jim’s mind.

“What are we going to do about the food situation if we can’t leave?”

“We’ll order in but have the driver bring it up to us. Use cash and order extra so we can save it for later.”

“Right. How long do you propose we’ll be staying here then?”

“However long it takes to get this guy, Sebastian. You know that.”

Jim turned back to his computer screen while Sebastian was left to order the food. He felt so useless, like a caged animal desperate to get out and stretch its legs. He was a sniper for god’s sake. In the bedroom Sebastian paced the room. He ordered the driver to get the food and threw the mobile on the bed when he was done.

_Think, Sebastian._ But it was hard, trying to think in the mindset of the prey instead of the hunter. _Think in reverse roles then. The prey becomes the hunter. How do I draw Moss out in public without making a scene?_ He paused a step from the window, gazing down into the street at the passers-by, unaware like his usual targets were as they went about their lives. A moment of clarity, “Jim!” he yelled, speeding out of the bedroom. “I think I know what we can do.”


End file.
